Ball cap holder

ABSTRACT

A storage frame for ball caps. It is a form that has a flat base that is formed into the general shape of a large ball cap. Spines extends upward from the base in a semi-circular form around the back of the base. A semi-circular form holds the rear spines, and provides a finished look to the device. On the base, flexible pieces of plastic make a smaller form, in the shape of a ball cap. This lower form is used to hold the caps, which can be stacked up as desired. The rear four pieces are secured at the tops of the bowed pieces with a screw and nut.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of Provisional application 62/760,103filed March, 2018.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to cap holders and particularly to ball capholders.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Baseball caps have been a popular style of hat for many years. Thesecaps have a crown that allows different types of logos, sayings or adsto be placed on them. As a result, many people like to collect thesehats. The problem of dealing with these hats is where to store them.Many devices have been developed that store hats so that the can bedisplayed so that the sayings or logos are visible. Such displays tendto take up a lot of space-especially for large hat collections. Forthose who simply want to store them, it is possible to fold the back ofthe crown inside the hat, which allows a lot of hats to be nested. This,of course, is not the best way to maintain a nice crown on the hat.Thus, there is a need for a simple way to store hats that does not takeup a lot of space, that maintains the shape of the hats and that can bedisplayed in a room, or stored in a closet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention solves that problem by providing a storage framefor ball caps. It is a form that has a flat base that is formed into thegeneral shape of the base of a large ball cap. A series of spinesextends upwards from the base in a semi-circular form around the back ofthe base, similar to a Windsor chair. The tops of the spines are held ina semi-circular form that not only holds the rear spines, but alsoprovides a finished look to the top of the device.

On the base, a smaller form in the shape of a ball cap is made up offlexible pieces of plastic. Three of the pieces make up the sides of thecrown of a ball cap, being slightly smaller than a standard size cap. Afourth piece runs from the back of the base to the front of the crownshape. The front of this piece has a bowed piece just in front of itthat sits just behind the brim of the cap when a cap is in place. Thisfront piece is not attached to the others. The rear four pieces aresecured at the tops of the bowed pieces with a screw and nut. All of theflexible pieces are glued into holes formed in the base. Ball caps canthen be stacked up on this lower from as desired. The rear spinesprovide stability for the stacked hats as well as an aesthetic detail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a left front perspective view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a right front perspective view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of the screw and nut that secures the fourplastic hoops.

FIG. 4 is a left side perspective view of the invention with a hatinstalled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a left front perspective viewof the invention 10. FIG. 2 is a right front perspective view of theinvention. As shown, the invention 10 has a base 11 that is made up of asingle piece that has a large semi-circular form 11 a in the rear and asmaller semi-circular form 11 b in the front. This figure approximatesthe shape of a baseball cap. At the rear portion of the largesemi-circular form 11 a, is a series of spokes 12. These spokes extendupwards at a slight outward angle to vertical. The size of this angle isnot overly important, except that it be close to vertical and that itplaces the spokes so that the tops are wider in diameter than theirbottom. This outward angle allows caps to be stacked up, as discussedbelow, without being squeezed into the device. This effect is clearlyshown in FIGS. 1-2. At the top of the spokes 12 is a top ring 13. Notethat the top ring 13 is open at the front as shown. This allows for auser to place the caps into the device and to remove them. The spokesare placed into holes drilled into the top ring. If the holes aredrilled completely through the top ring, plugs 13 a are used to fill theholes and leave a pleasing appearance. It is possible to drill blindholes in the bottom of the ring; however, this is more difficult andtime consuming. The resulting structure forms a frame around which thehats can be placed (see, e. g, FIG. 4 below). To ensure the hats stay inplace and maintain their form, an inner hat form 14 is used. The form 14consists of four hoops 15 of plastic that are bent as shown in FIGS. 1and 2. These hoops are placed in holes cut into the base 11 and aresecured with glue. The tops of the hoops are secured at the point 16with a number 4 bolt and nut 16 a and 16 b. See, FIG. 3 for a detailview. In addition, an outer hoop 15 a is secured to the base in the samemanner as the inner hat form 14. This outer hoop is positioned in frontof the inner hat form and is perpendicular to the front hoop portion,and to the longitudinal axis of the base, as shown. The outer hoop isused to support the brim when a hat is placed in the device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of the screw and nut that secures the fourplastic hoops. In this view, the bolt 16 a and nut 16 b are shownsecuring the plastic hoops 15.

FIG. 4 is a left side perspective view of the invention with a hatinstalled. As shown. A cap 100 is placed in the holder. The crown of thecap fits over the inner hat form 14 and the brim rests on the smallersemi-circular form 11 b in the front. Additional caps can be stackedover the cap 100 to safely and neatly store caps using the device.

The present disclosure should not be construed in any limited senseother than that limited by the scope of the claims having regard to theteachings herein and the prior art being apparent with the preferredform of the invention disclosed herein and which reveals details ofstructure of a preferred form necessary for a better understanding ofthe invention and may be subject to change by skilled persons within thescope of the invention without departing from the concept thereof.

I claim:
 1. A hat holder comprising: a) a continuous planar base havinga perimeter and a shape having a first semi-circular section at a rearof the base and a second semi-circular section at a front of the base,wherein the first semi-circular section is larger than the secondsemi-circular section; b) a plurality of spokes each having a top and abottom, wherein the spokes extend upwardly from the rear of said baseand forms a semi-circular pattern about the perimeter of the rear ofsaid base; c) a semi-circular shaped top ring, wherein the top ring hasan opening at a front portion of the top ring, said top ring beingattached to the tops of said plurality of spokes; and d) an inner hatform attached to said base and being positioned between correspondingpairs of spokes from said plurality of spokes; wherein the inner hatform is configured to hold a plurality of stacked hats thereon; whereinthe inner hat form comprises: i) a plurality of first inverted U-shapedhoops, wherein each of the first inverted U-shaped hoops have a topportion and a pair of opposed end portions, wherein the end portions ofthe first inverted U-shaped hoops are radially spaced apart and fixed tothe base, wherein the top portions of the first inverted U-shaped hoopsare connected to each other in an overlapping manner; ii) a secondinverted U-shaped hoop, wherein the second inverted U-shaped hoop isfixed to the second semi-circular section and spaced from the pluralityof first inverted U-shaped hoops; wherein the second inverted U-shapedhoop is smaller than each of the first inverted U-shaped hoops.
 2. Thehat holder of claim 1, wherein the shape of the base corresponds to ashape of the hats.
 3. The hat holder of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof spokes each extends upwards from said base at a slightly outwardangle.
 4. The hat holder of claim 3, wherein the tops of said pluralityof spokes form a first arc that has a first diameter and the bottoms ofsaid plurality of spokes form a second arc that has a second diameter,wherein the first diameter is larger than the second diameter.
 5. Thehat holder of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first inverted U-shapedhoops are each made of plastic, wherein the end portions of each firstinverted U-shaped hoop are inserted in holes in the base respectively,wherein a fastener secures the top portions of each first invertedU-shaped hoop together.